Engineering Materials for the
Biological Interface
KAREN J. L. BURG
Clemson University
ALI KHADEMHOSSSSEINI
Harvard Medical School
Early biomaterial scientists quickly determined the importance in purposeful design of the interface of biomedical devices in eliciting a desired cellular response, including good tissue integration. Indeed, even with respect to biomedical design, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts; that is, the characteristics of a complex tissue are defined by both the individual components and the relationship between them.
The biological interface, such as that of the connection of tendon or cartilage to bone, includes cell-cell and cell-tissue components, and modeling of this interface with cells and biomaterials can enhance understanding of both normal and repair tissue processes. The functionality of a biological interface may be judged by the response of biomaterials to cells or cells to biomaterials. Bulk tissue repair approaches (i.e., repairs of single tissue types) are relatively simple compared with repairs across interfaces, where one must often consider very diverse tissue properties (e.g., tissue mechanics) and the corresponding interfacial interactions. In attempts to simulate these interactions, researchers have focused on the design of materials, control of cells, and design of bioreactors in which to grow and assess these systems.
This session focuses on the whole and the parts and the methods with which to integrate the two. The speakers, representing academia and industry, review the technical concepts of interfacial engineering as well as the practical concepts and limitations in the translation of ideas to commercial application. Helen Lu (Columbia University) describes engineering tissue-to-tissue interfaces for the formation of complex tissues, David Schaffer (University of California, Berkeley) covers identification and modulation of biophysical signals that control stem cell function and fate, and Matthew Gevaert (Kiyatec) talks about cultivating 3D tissue systems to better mimic relevant events.
